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I simply don't get it! first was the 2013 sub scary tactics that possibly there would be no dos, then the subs were the lowest ever. Then CG was a success. Now the 2014 sub is in danger. I think the "IF" means is a scary tactics but may be he is more scared than us. He is losing his job (or at least part of it). Another thing to analyze is the facebook statement that trigger him to say that crap of the polybags and the poll. What I think is that January was a bad month for them. And they are really more scared than us.

Just wanted to point out something regarding Castle Grayskullman. My friend's subscription order was shortpacked by 1 Grayskullman figure. He orders for a bunch of us so we can combine shipping costs.

The problem is, there's no replacement. In fact, you can't even call it a replacement because it was never sent to begin with. All that was offered was a refund. Now, someone has to hunt down a Grayskullman on the secondary market, with the rest of the group chipping in the difference as he is a sold-out figure and commands a bit.

My problem is, it takes around a month for figures to arrive, internationally. Despite this knowledge, why would Grayskullman's Customer Service stock be sold so quickly after his initial sale? There was only but a week between his original sale date and the Cyber weekend sale, giving absolutely no chance to those in the position of my friend.

I understand this also happened to a number of subscribers when Fisto and Sorceress were released, although they completely sold out and there was no backup for some reason.

In any case, just wanted to make you aware of things like this. It's already frustrating that, as an international fan, we cannot enter contests or have access to the Mad Matty sales when they occurred. I know we're not a huge proportion of your sales, but we are out there supporting it.

I do hear you and this is just one of the issues that isn't 100% solvable with an online product line. International customers sometimes face the same issues US fans have when they want to buy (for example) import toys from Japan. At the end of the day we simply can't make the line and the buyign process work for every fan in every country with every individual buying habbit. but we do try!

What the hell kind of answer was that?!

This has nothing to do with not being able to "adapt" everything for international customers. This has everything to do with them either not keeping customer service stock for a reasonable amount of time and selling it off too early and/or this being one of these cases where they supposedly do actually have the customer service stock on hand, but the geniuses that answer the customer service calls apparently don't have access to this information and tell people that they are out of stock on replacements.

There's no reason why customer service stock should be cleared out and sold off only a week or two after a figure initially went on sale. That's not a reasonable amount of time. Even some people in the US who use the "newgistics" shipping may only just barely get their figures within that time frame, and not everyone necessarily opens their figures the split second that they get them.

Plus in cases like this one (regardless of whether the customers are in the US or not) where people are ordering together in bulk, it could take a little time for them to get together to get their figures and then open them. While something like a figure being completely missing (as was the case here) is something that is instantly obvious, something like a defect on a figure received may not be obvious until the figure is actually opened. And if it takes a week or two for people to get together to obtain the figures from the person that received them, then how are they supposed to get this corrected if the extra stock is being cleared out this quickly?

The only reason this happened in this case was because of Mattel applying some stupid, arbitrary rule on the 30th anniversary figures that they wouldn't be sold again after last year, so they "had to" clear out the excess stock before the year ended in order to stick to some pointless promise that nobody in their right mind wanted or cared about in the first place.

I can understand not being able to call up 6 months or a year after a figure comes out and get a replacement, but (and I'm exaggerating here) they can't put the figures up for sale on a Tuesday and pull the customer service stock on Thursday and expect that everyone will have had the chance to get any customer service issues taken care of.

This has nothing to do with not being able to "adapt" everything for international customers. This has everything to do with them either not keeping customer service stock for a reasonable amount of time and selling it off too early and/or one of these cases where they supposedly do actually have the customer service stock on hand, but the geniuses that answer the customer service calls apparently not having access to this information and telling people that they are out of stock on replacements.

There's no reason why customer service stock should be cleared out and sold off only a week or two after a figure initially went on sale. That's not a reasonable amount of time. Even some people in the US who use the "newgistics" shipping may only just barely get their figures within that time frame, and not everyone necessarily opens their figures the split second that they get them.

Plus in cases like this one (regardless of whether the customers are in the US or not) where people are ordering together in bulk, it could take a little time for them to get together to get their figures and then open them. While something like a figure being completely missing (as was the case here) is something that is instantly obvious, something like a defect on a figure received may not be obvious until the figure is actually opened. And if it takes a week or two for people to get together to obtain the figures from the person that received them, then how are they supposed to get this corrected if the extra stock is being cleared out this quickly?

The only reason this happened in this case was because of Mattel applying some stupid, arbitrary rule on the 30th anniversary figures that they wouldn't be sold again after this year, so they "had to" clear out the excess stock this year in order to stick to some pointless promise that nobody in their right mind wanted or cared about in the first place.

I can understand not being able to call up 6 months or a year after a figure comes out and get a replacement, but (and I'm exaggerating here) they can't put the figures up for sale on a Tuesday and pull the customer service stock on Thursday and expect that everyone will have had the chance to be taken care of.

That is true, they sold his stock off Same damn month he came out....no where near enough time to compensate for everyone getting a replacement, nor was is enough time for the 30 day thing, it was 2 weeks later and bam, all stock of CGm was sold out....I mean what the hell?

It looks like all scary tactics or they just want to play cheap. Losing money on shipping, international shipping being processed by a Sweeden Post Office (), figures in a polybag, black plastic and else.
It is staring to irk me that sensation or self righteous speech that they are doing us a favor not killin' the line yet since it is an out of this world effort to produce these toys. Then I see that Mattel is re launching Max Steel with a huge budget and promotion and I can see thousands of those in supermarkets, malls and even drugstores being available peg warming for 3 years even here, at down south of heaven

I don't think the line for the next year gets greenlit until more towards the middle of the year, if I remember correctly.

I'm not too worried at this point.

I agree with Jon on this. Scott knows they have been given the ok for a 2014 line since they need to plan out the years figures in advance and get the Horsemen sculpting the characters that will be shown at SDCC which is only five monthes away. Mattel has never waited till almost SDCC to say yes to a years linup. Right now scott was given x amount of figure slots for a potential 2014 subscription year. I just hope he puts together a knock out line up to draw people into subscribing as i think 2014 will be the last year if subscription sales stay low.

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Originally Posted by jzachery

A) Hopefully the big surprise for NYTF is out of sub 2 packs or more, if we can bang out a good portion of major wants really fast I'd be happy.

B) If the subs need to close by August to ensure production, but they can't reveal figures until SDCC, how is that going to work when just a few weeks clearly isn't enough time to get the ball rolling?

C) I've been to SDCC the last few years and MOTUC is the cornerstone of the Mattel display and panel, what are they going to do without it? LOL I know Barbie and Hotwheels are good for them, but that's not a big deal at SDCC. DCUC is struggling, and they have no animated DC line.

D) Are people going to be willing to sign up for the sub if they post it early if you don't know who the figures are yet? I don't think it's much different as we don't know most of the year going in, but this makes me wonder how the fan base will react. I'm subbing up either way, what about y'all?

as long as I can continue to keep paying for a subscription i'm all in

THANK YOU! this whole 'swedish post office in LA" is ********! if they at least just say "hey they shipp all international orders to sweden even canadian ones" I won't be happy but it's better than the bs line they keep spouting.

it's frustrating for us and it's also environmentally unsound. why waste all that fuel??

Actually, from a quick Googling of the Swedish Postal Service, this might not be bull. Apparently, their post office is quite different from ours, and may not even have physical locations anymore, at least not the way we think of a post office. Didn't have time to delve too deeply, but what TG is saying here may not be as wild as it sounds.

As for the 2014 sub, I agree we're seeing the usual "booga, booga, the sub may not be" scare strategy starting early this year. Keep in mind, though, 2014 is not assured, technically, until enough subs are sold to support it, so, from that perspective, TG can't confirm that there will be a 2014 until after the sub period. Phrasing it with such mystery and uncertainty, with a hint of danger, though, is simply the usual caveman club approach Mattel has taken of late...

"I will use this power for all the good that can be done, to work for peace, to encourage virtue, and above all, to preserve life in all its forms..." Superman

That Snout Spout answer is as lame as it can get. To sum up: because they blew it, they won't even try again ... awesome approach!

The only thing they forgot - it already worked with King Hsss ... it would be so funny if it actually wasn't that sad

This is what I don't understand...
Was there ever an issue with the King Hssss material?

My King Hssss is perfect and love the bendy snakes. They feel like they are good quality and I don't fear that they will split or break.
Octavia is being set back really bad if she has hard plastic tentacles...she is going to take up so much shelf space with that "wingspan!" It would be awesome to be able to pose those tentacles.

This is what I don't understand...
Was there ever an issue with the King Hssss material?

My King Hssss is perfect and love the bendy snakes. They feel like they are good quality and I don't fear that they will split or break.
Octavia is being set back really bad if she has hard plastic tentacles...she is going to take up so much shelf space with that "wingspan!" It would be awesome to be able to pose those tentacles.

They stated a long time ago that while King Hiss is good for that length, they wouldn't want to risk QC issues with the same material on something like long arm for Squeeze or thin tentacles for Octavia.

They stated a long time ago that while King Hiss is good for that length, they wouldn't want to risk QC issues with the same material on something like long arm for Squeeze or thin tentacles for Octavia.

The whole argument is ludicrous. I have bendy toys from the seventies that haven't started decomposing like Snouty's spout. There are materials that have been proven for decades that would work here (like the material that was used on my still working and non-decomposing Squeeeze from the 80's, or the bendy arms on my Marvel Legends Doc Ock). The real problem is that these are not the kind of cheap materials Mattel now uses for most of its products (not just MOTUC). It has nothing to do with QC concerns, it has to do with cost. Just like they said they couldn't make Plastic Man's hands flesh color because of the stretchy plastic they used for the arms while I have a Mr. Fantastic with the same feature from Toy Biz of the 90's with blue arms and white gloves all in one stretchy piece.

Always with them it cannot be done...

"I will use this power for all the good that can be done, to work for peace, to encourage virtue, and above all, to preserve life in all its forms..." Superman

How can they even say 2014 may not happen?! We MET the goal by 135% last year--so EVEN if we drop 35% for 2014--we still have a sub.
I'm sorry, but if a 2014 line isnt even offered (esp after we were basically promised an awesome 2014 if 2013 was met)--that's going to be 135% RIDICULOUS

As a native swede. We do have physical post offices, as well as service stations in large grocery stores. The post office is where I go when stuff get hit with import duty, and the service centers any other times.

Havinga Swedish post office in LA sounds strange, but I can't say anything on it's validity, it might be that all large harbors have offices, to expediate transport. I know postal services can be a bit strange. Like some companies in Sweden used to send their bulk mail to Finland for them to send back because that was cheaper. I have noticed quicker arrivals of my figures since Swedengate started through.

Actually, from a quick Googling of the Swedish Postal Service, this might not be bull. Apparently, their post office is quite different from ours, and may not even have physical locations anymore, at least not the way we think of a post office. Didn't have time to delve too deeply, but what TG is saying here may not be as wild as it sounds.

Well I've google searched "Swedish Post Office/Outlet etc. in California/Los Angeles etc" for a while now and haven't found one. I appreciate the info but I still believe this is utter male bovine feces. Even if it WAS a Swedish Postal Service in LA why would the packages have a swedish postal stamp and why would Whiplash7's tracking show that the package is IN Sweden? ugh, Digital River and buying stuff it's like mixing orange juice and toothpaste.

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Originally Posted by DanielSchenstrom

As a native swede. We do have physical post offices, as well as service stations in large grocery stores. The post office is where I go when stuff get hit with import duty, and the service centers any other times.

Havinga Swedish post office in LA sounds strange, but I can't say anything on it's validity, it might be that all large harbors have offices, to expediate transport. I know postal services can be a bit strange. Like some companies in Sweden used to send their bulk mail to Finland for them to send back because that was cheaper. I have noticed quicker arrivals of my figures since Swedengate started through.

This is what I don't understand...
Was there ever an issue with the King Hssss material?

I think the main issue Mattel had with the King Hssss material is that it was too expensive for their comfort level. While it may have issues when the limbs are as thin as Octavia's, I think it all boils down to costs more than anything else.

I usually don't read too much into the Q&A's anymore, whether they be MOTUC or WWE...In both cases, most of the important questions have already been answered and a lot of inquiries always get the same "Can't discuss this now", "That's not in the works", or "Keep reading the bios" type of answers. Then it all devolves into Doom and GloomTM.

I see the 2014 sub being in the same amount of danger that the 2013 was, so I don't worry too much about it. Just open up the sub sales and let the fans decide. Since 2014 is planned to be a lineup of heavy-hitters and fan-requested figures to complete MOTUC, it should sell better than 2013 did anyway. Even if it only gets 101%, it still means its going forward.

That's what bugs me about Mattel's panic-induced execs; 135% for 2013 is still greater than 100%. I don't want to hear about Upper Management's bellyaching that the subs aren't making 250%+ sales like the golden days of yesteryear. MOTUC is naturally winding down as more and more figures get made and factions are completed. Toy lines only last a few years anyway before interest wanes...And this is with full-blown media and advertising support! MOTUC has been a consistent seller for Matty, thanks to the fans and in spite of all the hoops they make us jump through, but Mattel and retailers still treats it like a nickel-and-dime operation because they don't seem to want to look beyond Barbie/Monster High/Hot Wheels type of lines that are designed to flood the market.

But meh...Whatever. It seems to be the norm with companies today to only focus on short-term gains, by any means necessary, instead of thinking of long-term commitment and building of brands. I'm not going to worry about execs worrying about profits and, instead, enjoy all the MOTUC figures that come out. Hey, Ram Man should be in our hands in a couple of weeks and I just bought a vintage Night Stalker to make Jitsu pop...Pretty cool, huh?

2014 may not happen? As a full year, they will show figures and then release those and maybe some others much like Ghostbusters if there isn't enough support for the subscription. But to think even if something gets sculpted doesn't mean it will get tool'd and go into production, please see The Young Justice 2 pack which did not receive enough support. I definitely see sub sales going down again this year, and there were more than a few fans who bought multiple subs just to help with the push.

I think the main issue Mattel had with the King Hssss material is that it was too expensive for their comfort level. While it may have issues when the limbs are as thin as Octavia's, I think it all boils down to costs more than anything else.

I usually don't read too much into the Q&A's anymore, whether they be MOTUC or WWE...In both cases, most of the important questions have already been answered and a lot of inquiries always get the same "Can't discuss this now", "That's not in the works", or "Keep reading the bios" type of answers. Then it all devolves into Doom and GloomTM.

I see the 2014 sub being in the same amount of danger that the 2013 was, so I don't worry too much about it. Just open up the sub sales and let the fans decide. Since 2014 is planned to be a lineup of heavy-hitters and fan-requested figures to complete MOTUC, it should sell better than 2013 did anyway. Even if it only gets 101%, it still means its going forward.

That's what bugs me about Mattel's panic-induced execs; 135% for 2013 is still greater than 100%. I don't want to hear about Upper Management's bellyaching that the subs aren't making 250%+ sales like the golden days of yesteryear. MOTUC is naturally winding down as more and more figures get made and factions are completed. Toy lines only last a few years anyway before interest wanes...And this is with full-blown media and advertising support! MOTUC has been a consistent seller for Matty, thanks to the fans and in spite of all the hoops they make us jump through, but Mattel and retailers still treats it like a nickel-and-dime operation because they don't seem to want to look beyond Barbie/Monster High/Hot Wheels type of lines that are designed to flood the market.

But meh...Whatever. It seems to be the norm with companies today to only focus on short-term gains, by any means necessary, instead of thinking of long-term commitment and building of brands. I'm not going to worry about execs worrying about profits and, instead, enjoy all the MOTUC figures that come out. Hey, Ram Man should be in our hands in a couple of weeks and I just bought a vintage Night Stalker to make Jitsu pop...Pretty cool, huh?

Good post. And maybe you won't need a vintage Night Stalker pretty soon.

I agree with Jon on this. Scott knows they have been given the ok for a 2014 line since they need to plan out the years figures in advance and get the Horsemen sculpting the characters that will be shown at SDCC which is only five monthes away. Mattel has never waited till almost SDCC to say yes to a years linup. Right now scott was given x amount of figure slots for a potential 2014 subscription year. I just hope he puts together a knock out line up to draw people into subscribing as i think 2014 will be the last year if subscription sales stay low.

Huh? Reading your post I'd say you disagree with him?

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Originally Posted by MegaGearMax

I think TG means if Mattel gets enough subscribers to put the 2014 sub in effect.

He keeps saying it depends on if they are given any slots for 2014. They should know how many skus they can plan out now.

Of course if sales aren't strong the sub won't go through, but you have to have a sub planned out in the first place to offer it up for sale! Unless they offer it up for sale without showing or announcing any figures.... Though it wouldn't surprise after the Grayskull pre-order...

But the point is, Scott knows how many sub skus the 2014 line has been given, so why the ********?

That's what bugs me about Mattel's panic-induced execs; 135% for 2013 is still greater than 100%. I don't want to hear about Upper Management's bellyaching that the subs aren't making 250%+ sales like the golden days of yesteryear. MOTUC is naturally winding down as more and more figures get made and factions are completed. Toy lines only last a few years anyway before interest wanes...And this is with full-blown media and advertising support! MOTUC has been a consistent seller for Matty, thanks to the fans and in spite of all the hoops they make us jump through, but Mattel and retailers still treats it like a nickel-and-dime operation because they don't seem to want to look beyond Barbie/Monster High/Hot Wheels type of lines that are designed to flood the market.

With that being said I really believe that the same people that were around in 1984 and 2002 are still in some way influencing the line in the WRONG way again...Sorry but Barbie & Hot Wheels are clogging the shelves too people..... This is just an EXCUSE to kill the line next year because of waying sales and subs (When in true it's not)

This reminds me of what Paramount did back when Friday The 13th films came out they did ever thing possible not to market them etc. and they made money again and again and again but not once did they give the success of those films to be in any way related to their company in a positive way...(Sorta like the ******* child you ignore until you have to acknowledge them) That's what MOTU is to Mattel a ******* child and besides from a few people helping out I don't see anything past 2014 because even though it is making money from them they would never acknowledge it and if something were to go wrong they could cancel the line and give reasons...

I think you guys might be reading into things. We have a 2014 line on paper, it depends on hitting the min number of subs if it happens. As for the Swis office, this is 100% accurate. Packages don't go to Sweden, they go through the LA Swedish international office to get the best possible international rates before going straight to Canada (or wherever). All in the name of saving our international fans on shipping as Swedish post offers very competitive rates. Packages do not actually go to Sweden and never have.

I think you guys might be reading into things. We have a 2014 line on paper, it depends on hitting the min number of subs if it happens. As for the Swis office, this is 100% accurate. Packages don't go to Sweden, they go through the LA Swedish international office to get the best possible international rates before going straight to Canada (or wherever). All in the name of saving our international fans on shipping as Swedish post offers very competitive rates. Packages do not actually go to Sweden and never have.

So the Swedish planes go to Canada before Sweden? And they leave from LA? That is an odd path to take...

I would really hate to see the line end in 2015. I had always heard that 2017 was the proposed end date. If the line winds down in 2015, that will mean that a lot of POP and NA figures will never get made. Maybe it is time to go back to the original model, with just one figure per month (12 per year). Sometimes, less is more, and there is no reason why Mattel couldn't continue to make a profit off of MOTUC till 2017 (or beyond). 12 figures per year would equal a less expensive subscription, and would probably help to increase actual subscription sales. Playsets and vehicles could be made using the same system that worked for Castle Grayskull, to ensure a healthy profit.

What do you do when you fall off your bike? What do you do if a bully knocks you down? What do you do if you get bucked off a horse? What do you do if your Snot Spout nose busts? You get up, dust yourself off and get right back on that ****er and to take it for another ride! Don't give this bs answer that they got their nose bloodied once and now they are afraid to fight again. What a immature thing to say. And we are dealing with the biggest bully in town, Mattel. They just need to go back to the drawing board and figure the **** out and get it right the second time..although they already got it right with King Hsss! He-Man would be so disappointed in Mattel right now. He might just throw his sword into the endless pit around Grayskull and give up on being He-Man. Oh, no he wouldn't! He would go on to fight another day!